Eyes
by Xochiquetzal
Summary: Jadis/Even. I've destroyed an entire world without hesitation and yet I can't bring myself to kill /you/... One Shot.


Even couldn't remember the last time he'd been so utterly terrified as now. In fact, in addition to abject horror, he couldn't think of another situation in which he'd been so _confused_.  
As a general rule, he liked young, pretty women who were idiotic and harmless, the kind of girls who didn't know an _alkane_ from an _alkene_, the ones who if one forgot their name the worst one would suffer would be a pathetic attempt at a slap to the cheek.  
As he stared - mouth hanging open in sheer shock - into those narrowed hazel eyes, he slowly realised and not for the first time that this particular woman was neither idiotic nor harmless. At least, the staff quivering inches from his face certainly seemed to hint so.  
"H-hey," He said eloquently, wondering vaguely if it would be possible to freeze an Ice Queen with a bit of science and some brute determination, "I'm sure there's no need for that."  
"This is no ordinary staff," The woman in question whispered murderously, as though Even couldn't tell from the way it glimmered in the early morning sunlight and the mystic carvings engraved along its length. "Just the slightest of touches and I could turn you to stone."  
"_Could_." Even quickly pointed out with a crooked smile that soon melted under her piercing glare. "Say, if you're going to make a statue of me, wouldn't it be much nicer to look at if I had some clothes on?"  
Her gaze dropped briefly to the expanse of pale skin that formed Even's torso and stomach, barely covered by a thick fur blanket that clung to his hips.  
"Oh, I don't know," She said pensively, and with a sneer thrust the staff even closer to its target right between Even's eyes. "Why? You're not hoping for escape, are you?"  
"I just thought it worth mentioning that I'm probably more use to you alive than dead," Even said evenly, willing his voice not to betray the fear that hid behind his eyes. And then he added, because hers was a name he'd remembered, one _worth_ remembering because it rolled so effortlessly off the tongue like a beautiful poison, "Jadis."  
Jadis jerked her head upwards a little and in doing so knocked free a few more locks of long, brunette hair so that it hung around her perfect, intimidating face like a mane.  
"Hmph."  
Sensing her hesitation, Even took his chance to be a little bolder.  
"You don't want to kill me, do you?"  
Jadis snarled so much like the wolf she kept as pet and slave, and the shining translucent staff shot closer, so close that Even was forced to press his head back into the pillow to keep from being petrified by its cursed touch. Jadis shifted above him, all deathly white angles and eyes seething with hatred.  
"I do," She spat. "I want to kill you very much indeed, Even Leadwire. You are an awful man. Despicable. Infuriating."  
There was venom in every syllable she used to lacerate Even's ego, and yet inexplicably he found himself smiling, the fear if not melting away becoming something that didn't warrant worrying about as he steadily, calmly, met her gaze.  
"Thank you."  
If looks could kill, he thought gleefully as Jadis' glare turned all the more sour that she wasn't having the intended effect on her chosen victim.  
"Don't push your luck, Son of Adam. You are of no use to me."  
Even snickered, and reached boldly up to brush his fingertips across her cheek, high bones so familiar to his own, thin, blood red lips and a proud, noble brow with eyes to match. _Dangerous_, was the first word that came to mind as Even considered her. The second was _beautiful_.  
"Oh," He said softly, forcing Jadis to listen and listen well and enjoying every second of the control he inexplicably held over her, "I shouldn't like to bet on that."  
Their eyes were locked in a terrifyingly close hold for ten seconds or more, but Jadis was losing. Eventually she let out an irritated noise, and tossed the staff away. It clattered harmlessly to the floor.  
"I hate you," She muttered with heartfelt appreciation. "I have destroyed an entire planet without a second's hesitation and yet I cannot bring myself to kill _you_."  
Even caught her empty hand with his remaining one and tugged her closer, barely able to contain his victorious smile. There was no need for words to be said. His eyes gave everything away.  
"Of all people, _you_," Jadis continued, none too gently grabbing a hold of Even's shoulders to shake him against the soft feather mattress of the bed. "A _human_. I can't understand it."  
Even laughed, bony fingers finding their own hold on a narrow, slender waist of that almost ethereal, elongated body.  
"Oh, I do."  
Jadis' eyes narrowed even further into slits of undiluted annoyance.  
"Care to enlighten me?"  
Even tangled one hand in her rough hair, pulling her head down to whisper, ever so softly, in her ear, something he never thought he'd hear himself saying, let alone to a woman he'd barely even met.  
"It's _love_."


End file.
